1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to surgical instruments, such as surgical stapling instruments. In particular, the present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and loading units having assemblies for determining relative linear positions of components of the surgical instrument.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical stapling instruments having an end effector configured to clamp and suture tissue are well known in the medical arts. Typically, these instruments include a first jaw that supports an anvil assembly and a second jaw that supports a cartridge assembly which houses a plurality of staples. The first and second jaws are movable in relation to each other between spaced and approximated positions to clamp tissue between the jaws prior to firing the staples into the tissue. The first and second jaws may also support two part fasteners or first and second compression members that interact to suture tissue.
Circular stapling instruments are used to perform end-to-end anastomosis procedures within a patient. During an end-to-end anastomosis procedure, an end of a first vessel portion is joined to an end of a second vessel portion. Typically, circular stapling instruments include an anvil, which defines an annular array of staple deforming depressions and an annular cartridge housing annular rows of staples. During actuation of the circular stapling instrument, the anvil is approximated toward the annular cartridge to clamp tissue therebetween. When it is determined that the tissue has been clamped between the anvil and the annular cartridge, staples may then be ejected into the clamped tissue.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a system for precisely determining and indicating the relative positions of an anvil and a cartridge throughout actuation of a surgical stapling instrument.